Vogue 1389 - Casual coral sweatshirt

After making two lined dresses in a row I decided I needed an easy project. For me, the easy projects I undertake usually end up being a lot more work than I think they’ll be. Not this time, though. I whipped up this fitted top in just a few hours. The fabric, a Thakoon coral sweatshirt cotton, was purchased from Mood fabrics a few years (!) ago and has long since sold out. Mood has a number of similar cotton terrycloth options available. My personal favorite is the grey and metallic terry knit, which I’ll probably get for another one of these tops.

Originally I had a large piece of this fabric which I cut into for a casual dress. Unfortunately it was not matched well to the pattern, and the project ended up in a trash can. I had a large scrap piece left over and loved the color, so I saved it until I could find a way to use it up. I used Vogue 1389, a Donna Karan designer pattern. It’s a bit of a sleeper pattern that hasn’t been made much by the online sewing community. The example garments are all gray and a bit boring but the design lines are really nice.

This is a well fitted top. The sides wrap around to the back and are angled in such a way that they provide some nice waist definition. I cut my usual Vogue size 12 but lowered the armholes by an inch. They are super high as drafted! The wide neckband and sleevebands I sewed using the opposite side of the fabric for a little contrast. I had to piece my back together because I was short on fabric.

That back seam and the side seams were sewn with the wrong sides together, then ironed flat and topstitched so that the wrong sides show on the outside. This is a fun finish that I used on a project a long time ago. I contemplated using it to finish the arm seams as well, but thought it might be too distracting with the contrast along the neckline. Now I wish I’d done it.

I adore the length of these sleeves. Unless it’s really cold, I find myself pushing up my long sleeve tops to just below my elbows. They would be really easy to lengthen if you prefer the longer length.

I finished all the inside seams with the overlocking stitch on my machine. The neckline and sleeve bands were topstitched down to prevent the seam from twisting or flipping out.

The hem was sewn with a wide twin needle.

I first made this top up in a silk jersey and it did not have enough stretch recovery to make the neckline lay flat. The result was not flattering, so keep that in mind if you want to make this pattern up. Also the neckline will get stretched out when being attached and will need to be washed and dried to shrink it back, so a wool knit might not be the best choice of fabric.

Note: This fabric was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.